The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-04-27
ATTACKED BY PIRATES.

Albeit have read hundred books OF
adventure in which the sea and sailor fig
ured literally, am never tired of hear
ing those who 60 down to sea IN ships
ypeak of their perils and adventures. A
bronzed old Jack Tar, who was anchored
alongside of me for a couple of hours the
other day, and who answered to the
name of John Scott, gave me the follow
ing thrilling incident, which l believe to
be true in every detail:
1T was in the spring of 1872" said
Scott, as he made ready, ''that I ran
away from the American bark Twin
Sisters at Hong Kong, being thoroughly
dssgustcd with the tyranny and cruelty of
the Captain and mate. There was a
Frenchman there who kept sort of
hiding place for runaways, and, although
we were pretty sharply looked after for
few days, we were not discovered, and
the bark went on up the coast. We
Knocked about for few days without
turning up anything, and then | shipped
aboard small brig which traded between
Hong Kong and the Philippine Islands
to the east. She was called the
Explorer, and her Captain and
part owner was an Englighman
named Garnscy. The mate was also an
Englishman, and of the six men of us
before the mast, two were Americans,
one Lsscar, one negro, and the other
two were Norwegians. We were all
runsways, and glad enough to get job,
and when we found Captain and mate
pretty good fellows, and the brig tight
and we'll found, we turned with will,
and showed full measure of gratitude,
The cargo, as remember it, was made up
of little of everything for general
trading. The brig had made three or
four voyages along the west side of the
islands, and this time, as we left Hong
Kong behind us, we steered to the east,
that we might 60 down on that coast of
Luzon Island, which is by all odds the
largest of the hundred or more islands
dotting the Pacific from opposite Hong
Kong, but 800 miles away, down to New
Guinea and Borneo.
"We had the best of weather and a
fast run while going to the eastward, nor
did We meet with mishap of any sort
until working down the coast to Luzon
Then the winds were light and battling
for several successive days, and we made
but slow progress to repay US for our
hard work. The winds were still head
ing us when the Captain was taken sick.
Some sort of fever seized him all of a
sudden, and it must have had stout
hand to keep him down, for he was in
the prime of life, and a strong man. 1t
was on the third day of his illness, and
the mate had reported him as no better,
when, at o'clock in the afternoon, as we
were about four miles off the coast of
Luzon, and we'll toward its southern end,
Junk put out from bay and sailed ON
line to intercept us. There was no
port there, and we were not fyinga trad
ing signal, and the mate had not taken
more than a glance at the junk through
the glass when he exclaimed:
MAY be called a marine if that fel-
low isn't up to mischief
II was acting as mate at the time, and
he handed me the glass, and asked me to
90 aloft and take good squint at the
junk. hadn't the glass on him over a
minute before | was satisfied that he was
pirate. He had as many ms thirty men
aboard and thought could make out
two howitzers on his deck. He had no
signal or flag flying. as would lave been
the case had nc wanted to speak or salute
US. There was but little wind, and we
scarcely had stecrageway, and the junk
was also moving slowly. Before descend
ing to the deck I looked around the
izon, and down in the northeast |
noted indications of change of weather.
Ny report on the junk was eagerly
, awaited, and when I had finished it MIR.
Reynolds said:
aIook you, Scott, that fellow is after
us, and if he takes the brig, none of us
will be spared. Will the men hghtF
"sWhy, sir. what have we to fight
with2'